


Big Brother

by thatwriterlady



Series: 30 Day Writing Challenge 2018 [17]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Babysitting, Brothers, Castiel Likes Dean Winchester, Castiel Loves His Little Brother, Children, Dean Winchester Likes Castiel, Excited Little Brother, Flirting, Fluff, M/M, Teenagers, Young Samandriel, child fic, older brother Castiel, older brother Dean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-17
Updated: 2018-11-17
Packaged: 2019-08-25 03:10:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16653184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatwriterlady/pseuds/thatwriterlady
Summary: Castiel is babysitting his active little brother Alfie when the boy spots some kids across the street doing something he's never seen before.  They're practicing karate and to a five year old with an active imagination, he's fascinated.  Castiel goes to ask the boys what school they attend for karate and it leads to meeting one of the boy's handsome older brother.  Turns out babysitting has some perks.





	Big Brother

**Author's Note:**

> Here's Day 17. I'm working on Day 18, and hopefully I'll get it up tomorrow. I'm not feeling so hot. The same virus keeps making it's way through my house and this might be the start of round three. My throat is killing me, so I'm in bed, writing and watching movies. I hope you all enjoy this one.

**Day 17- Lethal**

 

Alfie whipped his foam sword through the air, making attack sounds as he did so. 

 

“Ha!”  He spun around and stuck the sword out in front of him.

 

“Hiya!”  He shouted as he smacked the old oak tree in the front yard. 

 

“Look at me, Cassie!”  He jumped up and spun around before jabbing the sword at his older brother who was sitting in a lawn chair a few feet away reading a book.  Cas, who only let his siblings get away with calling him Cassie, lowered his book and looked at him.

 

“You’re getting really good at those jumps and turns.  Are you a king?”

 

“No, I’m a knight!  I’ve been sent by the king to save the princess!”  Alfie whipped his sword through the air again.  It made his brother smile.  Cas really didn’t mind having to watch over his baby brother.  Alfie was very entertaining.

 

“Oh, and what are you saving her from?”

 

“A dragon!” 

 

Cas nodded, putting on his most sobering expression.  “Well, you should work more on your swordsmanship, dragons are notoriously hard to defeat.”

 

Alfie finally dropped the sword to the grass and ran over to him.  He climbed into his brother’s lap and looked up at him. 

 

“Can I have a juice box?  I’m thirsty.  Fighting dragons is hard work!”

 

Cas chuckled as he scooped his brother up and carried him into the house.  He set him down and walked into the kitchen with the little boy right on his heels.  After fetching one of the fruit punch boxes and sticking the little straw in it, he walked his brother back outside.  The juice had no dyes so it was clear but if Alfie spilled it, he preferred to have the sticky juice land in the grass rather than on the carpet.

 

Alfie dropped down onto the grass and crossed his legs as he sucked on his straw.  Cas returned to his chair and picked his book back up.  He’d been assigned the task of watching his younger brother because their dad had work and both of his younger sisters had dance practice, which is where their mother currently was, waiting for them to finish.  His older brother couldn’t be bothered to babysit, so that left him to watch over the five year old.  Really, he didn’t mind though.  His relationship with all of his siblings was better than most teenagers, which most of his friends didn’t get.  The ones that had siblings always seemed to fight with theirs but he didn’t really argue with his.  Once in a while he butted heads with his older brother, Gabe, but even that was rare.

 

He lowered his book when Alfie got too quiet and saw his brother standing at the oak tree, watching something across the street.

 

“What are you looking at?”

 

“What are they doing?”  Alfie asked.  Cas set his book down again and got up from his chair.  He walked over to his brother and looked at where the boy was pointing.  Across the street and four houses down there were two boys, both dressed in black.  From where they stood he thought they were practicing karate.

 

“It looks like they’re doing karate,”

 

Alfie looked at him with a puzzled expression.  “What’s karate?”

 

“Well, it’s what ninjas are skilled in, but they know a lot of other martial arts too.  It’s how they move around where people can’t see them and attack bad guys.  Ninjas are pretty cool,”

 

His little brother looked at the boys across the street again.  “What’s a ninja?”

 

“They’re skilled assassins.  That means they hunt down the really bad guys and they kill them.  But the bad guy has to be really, super bad to have ninjas come after them.  Usually those bad guys are hiding somewhere that no one can find them, but the ninjas can.  They’re trained to be really smart like that,”  Cas was bullshitting through this conversation.  He didn’t know jack shit about ninjas, other than what he’d seen in movies, but to a five year old who was looking up at him like he was speaking the word of god, he didn’t feel too bad about what he was telling him.  Later, if Alfie wanted to, he could research ninjas and learn what they really did.

 

“That’s so cool!”  The little boy exclaimed.  “Can I ask them how they know karate?  I wanna be a ninja!”

 

“Well, I don’t know,”  Cas looked at the boys again.  They looked around his sister Hael’s age, maybe twelve?  Thirteen?  He didn’t know who they were though.

 

“Please?”  Alfie begged.  Cas sighed and jerked a thumb back at their house.

 

“Go put your shoes on,”

 

Alfie raced across the yard to the stairs and up into the house.  Cas leaned against the tree to wait.  His brother was back faster than he expected, his Captain America shoes velcroed securely.  He was betting the little guy had foregone socks.  It didn’t matter, they wouldn’t be across the street long.  He just wanted to find out what school the boys were going to so he could relay the information to his parents.

 

He took his brother by the hand and crossed the street.  They walked down to where they boys were still practicing and they both stopped when Cas and Alfie arrived.

 

“Hi,”  Alfie greeted them, smiling brightly as he usually did.

 

“Hi,”  The boy with the shaggy hair said back.  He looked up at Cas after that, and he knew the boy was wondering who they were and why they were there.

 

“Hello, we live across the street and my little brother saw you practicing.  This is karate, right?”

 

“Yeah.  Kevin and me, we’re learning together,”

 

“Can you tell me what school you attend?  So I can give the information to my parents.  Alfie here wants to learn to do karate,”  Cas explained.

 

“Cool, I’ll go get that.  Be right back!”  The boy dashed into his own house leaving his friend Kevin standing there.

 

“So you live across the street?”  Kevin asked.  Cas nodded and pointed to his own house. 

 

“We live there,”

 

“I live next door to Sam,”  Kevin pointed out his own house.

 

“Sam is the boy that lives here?  Your friend?”

 

Kevin nodded.  “Yeah, he’s my best friend.  We play baseball together and we’re taking karate.  I’m just glad my mom lets me.  She didn’t want me to do it, she thought I’d get hurt, but I’ve never been hurt, neither has Sam,”

 

Kevin was talkative and friendly.  He liked the boy.

 

“Hey, you were talking to my brother?”

 

Cas looked up at the sound of the deep voice addressing him and saw a young man around his age coming out of the house.

 

“Yes, I’m sorry, my little brother saw your brother and his friend practicing and he’s interested in taking karate.  We just wanted to get the name of the school, and maybe the website?  So my parents can see about setting up lessons for him,”  He motioned towards Alfie who was rocking on the balls of his feet and looking up at the man.  When he looked down at the boy, Alfie offered up one of his bright, happy smiles.  The man smiled back.

 

“Yeah, that’s what Sammy said.  I found the information and wrote it down.  I’d have asked my mom but she’s sleeping.  She worked a double and just got home at six this morning, so I didn’t want to bother her.  Here’s the information though.  I’m pretty sure they have classes for all ages, starting around five or six,”  He handed a piece of paper to Cas who read what was written down before folding it and putting it in his pocket.

 

“Thank you.  My parents encourage us all to find something we’re interested in and they will get us into it.  Alfie here is just figuring out what he wants to do, and apparently watching your brother has interested him enough to want to do karate too.  See, he wants to be a ninja,”

 

The guy chuckled and smiled at Alfie.  “I think I saw you practicing with your sword earlier.  You’re pretty good with it.  I bet you’re a knight, off to save a princess and slay a dragon, right?”

 

Alfie squealed and jumped up and down excitedly.  “Yeah!  Cassie says I’m getting real good with my sword,”

 

The guy looked at Cas and smiled.  “Are you Cassie?”

 

“Cas.  Only my siblings call me Cassie,” 

 

“Well, Cas, I’m Dean.  I think we went to school together.  I know I’ve seen you around.  I didn’t realize you lived across the street from me though,”

 

Cas tried to place Dean at his old high school but couldn’t.  There had been a large student body and he couldn’t have possibly known everyone.  He felt like he should have at least noticed someone as attractive as Dean. 

 

“The student body was so large, I apologize for not recognizing you.  I mostly kept to myself and concentrated on my studies.  I needed a scholarship in order to go to college.  My parents might encourage us to do things that interest us but there are five of us.  They can’t afford to send all of us to college,”

 

“It’s cool.  I knew who you were because you were one of the mathletes.  My friend Ash went to the competitions with you, he was on your team,”

 

Now that name Cas knew.  His face lit up with recognition.  “Oh yes!  Ash is a very nice guy, and infinitely smarter than me,”

 

Dean chuckled as he stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jeans. 

 

“Yeah, well, Ash is smarter than pretty much everyone.  He just hides it well.  I went to a few competitions to watch you guys.  I’ve always been good in math and I thought about joining, but I was afraid I’d freeze up, so I didn’t.  Instead, I followed my father’s dream and I played baseball and football.  Actually got a football scholarship, but I decided go with the full academic ride I got to UIC.  I don’t want to play football in college.  I’m going to finish up my courses there, then apply to medical school.  We’re lucky our school has the higher GPA scale because normally, they’d put me at 4.0, but mine is actually 4.9.  It got me a lot of scholarship offers.  I think it will improve my chances of getting into medical school if I maintain the same grades.  I’ve already wiped out quite a few college courses.  I’ll be starting university with twelve college credits.  That’s pretty much a whole year knocked out already.  What about you?”

 

Cas stared at Dean as he talked, stunned by the man standing in front of him.  Dean was a genius.  He could only guess at how high his IQ was.

 

“Me?  Well, I don’t have a 4.9 GPA, but I pulled a solid 4.1.  I’m going to Stanford, actually, also going for my medical degree.  My goal is to get into their school of medicine after I’m done with my undergrad.  I’ve earned four credits,”

 

“I’ll be applying to Stanford too for medical school,”  Dean said, smiling.  “Sammy here wants to go to Stanford to be a lawyer.  He starts high school in the fall and my folks told him he needs to do well if he wants a scholarship.  He’ll do it though, won’t you, Sammy?”  He ruffled his brother’s hair and Cas smiled at the look of annoyance on the boy’s face as he shoved Dean’s hand away and tried to smooth his hair back down.

 

“You probably go to school with my sister Rachel,”  Cas said, looking at Sam.  “Rachel Novak.  She’s being put ahead a grade, so she’ll be a freshman this year too.”

 

Sam smiled and nodded.  “I know Rachel.  I know Hael too, but only by name,”

 

“My sisters are thirteen and twelve.  Alfie here was a surprise,”  Cas chuckled.

 

“It’s just me and Sammy,”  Dean said.  Cas smiled, suddenly feeling very shy with the way Dean was looking at him.  Alfie had stayed very quiet until that moment but he tugged on his brother’s hand.

 

“I’m hungry.  Can I have McDonald’s?  I want chicken nuggets,”

 

Cas looked down at him, thinking about whether he wanted to make that walk.  His mom had the car he usually drove.

 

“I want McDonald’s,”  Sam suddenly piped up.  Kevin nodded.

 

“I bet I could get my mom to give me money,”

 

“Guys,”  Dean glanced nervously at Cas.  “You can’t just invite yourselves along.”

 

“You can drive us.  Mom will say I can go,”  Sam argued.

 

“I don’t mind.  We’re walking anyway, my mom has the second car.  My sisters are at dance practice, so she’s waiting for them, then she’s dragging them grocery shopping.  It’s just me and Alfie until dinner time.  If you guys don’t mind walking, you can come with,”  Cas told the boys.

 

“I’m going to go ask my mom for money.  If she says no, I’ll use my allowance,”  Kevin darted into the next yard and then into the house.  Dean thumped his brother lightly in the arm.

 

“Lose the ninja clothes if you want to go to McDonald’s.  And ask mom for money,”

 

Sam turned and headed inside.

 

“I would drive us all, except I’m pretty sure he needs a car seat, and there’s not enough room in my truck.  If you don’t mind me tagging along, I’ll walk with you,”  Dean was the one looking shy all of a sudden.  Cas smiled and nodded.

 

“I’d like that.  First, I need to make sure he uses the bathroom and puts socks on.  And maybe pants that fit,”  He looked down at his brother and frowned.  The little boy was dressing himself now and today he’d put on a pair of sweatpants that didn’t even reach his ankles.

 

“You might want to leave him in those.  There’s that play land and if he wants to go up in it, it’s probably a good idea to not put him in his good clothes,”  Dean pointed out.

 

“Right, good idea.  He still needs socks though,”  Cas said.  “Why don’t you meet us in front of our house in about five?  I’m sure it will take Sam a few minutes to change too,”

 

Dean nodded.  “Cool, see you in five,”

 

Cas turned Alfie around and started walking back towards their house.

 

“You are going to go use the bathroom and put on socks.  I’ll grab the money mom left us for lunch and then we’ll go,”

 

“Chicken nuggets!  I want a toy!”  Alfie exclaimed.

 

“Of course you do,”  Cas smiled fondly at his brother as they crossed the street and headed up to their house.  Alfie let go of his hand and hurried inside. 

 

Five minutes later they were meeting Dean, Sam, and Kevin outside the house.

 

“I have Pup Patrol socks!”  Alfie exclaimed as they started walking.

 

“That’s so cool.  I like your Captain America shoes,”  Dean told him, smiling at the little boy’s enthusiasm.

 

“He’s my favorite!  Cassie likes him too but Gabe says the Hulk is better.  Rachel likes Thor but Hael likes Black Widow,”  Alfie looked thoughtful for a second.  “Is Black Widow a ninja?  She kills the bad guys and she wears black.”

 

Dean caught Cas’ eye before they both looked down at him.

 

“Well, she has a different kind of training, but she’s just as lethal as a ninja.  Maybe even more so,”  Dean told him.

 

“What’s lethal?”  Alfie asked.

 

“It means she’s so good at killing the bad guys that none of them can escape.  She kills them all,”  Cas explained.

 

“But she only kills the really bad guys?”  Alfie looked up at him with wide, questioning eyes. 

 

“Right.  She only kills when she has to, and only the really, super bad guys.  That’s what makes her a superhero,”

 

Alfie was quiet, the wheels in his little mind turning quickly.  “Like the monsters that broke into Wakanda?  And the bad lady that tried to hurt Black Widow and Scarlet Witch?  And Okoye?”

 

Cas looked over at Dean who seemed both amused and impressed.

 

“He loves Marvel and can pretty much name every character, in the movies and in the comics.  He just got to watch Black Panther and it’s like his new favorite movie,”

 

Dean smiled, his impressed expression growing.

 

“That’s pretty awesome.  My brother and I watch the movies in theater when they come out.  Black Panther was fantastic,”  He looked down at Alfie again.  “But to answer your question, yes, like the monsters, and the bad lady.  If they hadn’t killed her, she would have killed them all.  She was a really bad, bad guy.”

 

“But Daddy says Thanos isn’t really a bad guy.  He says Thanos is just mis…mis…,”  Alfie’s little face scrunched up as he tried to remember the word.

 

“Misguided.  Dad says Thanos is misguided.  He did a really bad thing, but that even good people can do bad things.  He also said Thanos still has to be stopped,”  Cas told him.

 

“Yeah!  That’s what Daddy said!  I think Thanos is a bad guy.  He killed lots of people and that’s wrong,”

 

“You’re absolutely right.  That’s why he’s not a good guy.  Good guys don’t deliberately kill other good or innocent people.  When he started killing people, that made him not be a good guy anymore.  So Sam and I, we think he’s a bad guy,”  Dean explained.  Cas appreciated that he was speaking in terms his little brother would understand.  Talking anything Marvel was a good way to draw Alfie into conversation, not that it was difficult to get him to talk.  He was a very friendly and chatty little boy.

 

“I think he’s a bad guy too.  Daddy doesn’t think so.  Cassie does though, right, Cassie?  You said Thanos is a bad guy,”  Alfie was looking up at his brother again.

 

“Yes, I think he’s a bad guy that needs to be stopped.  Dean is right, good people don’t kill other good people,”

 

Alfie squealed excitedly and hopped up and down as they continued walking.  Cas tightened his grip on his brother’s hand so he didn’t trip and fall.  He chuckled at Alfie’s excitement.  For only being five he was exceptionally bright and passionate about the things he liked.

 

“He’s a bundle of energy, isn’t he,”  Dean was smiling at Cas again.  It made his stomach flutter.  Cas smiled back and nodded.

 

“He is, but not overly so.  Marvel is just one of those topics he’s passionate about.  He could talk about superheroes forever.  I was actually surprised he chose to bring his sword outside today instead of his Captain America shield,”

 

“Hey, Alfie,”  Dean drew the little boy’s attention to him.

 

“What?”

 

“You have a Captain America shield?”

 

Alfie nodded.  “I have a shield and a mask and a tee shirt.  He’s my favorite,”

 

“That’s so cool.  I have a Captain America shield too.  He’s my favorite too,”

 

Alfie gasped and looked up at him with wide eyes.  Cas loved how animated his brother could be.

 

“ _You_ have a shield too?”

 

“I do.  I want to get his suit.  Are you going to be Cap for Halloween?”

 

Alfie looked thoughtful again.  “I was him last year, wasn’t I, Cassie?”

 

“Yes you were,”  Cas confirmed.

 

“Maybe I want to be Black Widow.  She’s really cool, and she’s a ninja!”

 

Cas stifled his laugh by covering his mouth with his free hand but Dean was grinning wide.

 

“That _is_ really cool.  I bet you’d make a really awesome Black Widow,” 

 

“Don’t forget the wig,”  Sam piped up.  “Me and Kevin are gonna be characters from It.  He’s gonna be Eddie and I’m gonna be Richie.”

 

“I saw that.  Actually, I read the book, then I saw the mini-series, _then_ I saw the movie.  The movie annoys me because it’s so far off from the book,”  Cas hated the movie, if he was being honest with himself.

 

“Agreed,”  Dean nodded.  “But they’re basing their characters on the book, not the movie.”

 

“What’s It?”  Alfie asked.

 

“Something you are way too young to read,”  Cas said.  “There are a lot of books you can read that aren’t like that one.”

 

“But I want to read that one,”  Alfie pouted.

 

“When you’re older, like Sam and Kevin,” 

 

“Can Hael read it?”  Alfie asked.

 

“Hael wouldn’t read it.  She likes different books,” 

 

“I need a new topic,”  Cas was exasperated.  Thankfully McDonald’s was in sight.

 

“Hey, Buddy, what kind of toys do you think they have today?”  Dean pointed at the McDonald’s.

 

“I hope they have Pup Patrol!”  Alfie exclaimed.  He was back to jumping up and down excitedly and it jarred his brother’s shoulder every time he did.  Cas didn’t mind though, he was just glad his brother was off the topic of It.

 

Once they were inside and had ordered, they went to sit in the play area.  Cas got his brother to eat before the boy was ripping his shoes off and climbing up the nearest tube.  Sam and Kevin had gone to sit at a table by themselves so that left Cas sitting with Dean.

 

“You know, I saw a few of the football games.  I must have seen you playing.  What’s your last name?” 

 

“Winchester.  Number 47,”

 

“Oh, you were one of the quarterbacks!  I did see you play,”  Cas smiled.  “You flew across the field.  You have a natural gift, I can see why the scouts tried to recruit you.  How on earth did you manage sports while maintaining that kind of GPA?”

 

Dean shrugged as he swirled a French fry through his ketchup.  “Academics always came naturally to me.  I didn’t have to work very hard to keep my grades up.  The real struggle was just trying to find the time to do the homework while also going to practice and playing games.  I didn’t have a social life because of that.  I almost don’t know what to do with myself this summer,”  He joked.  “It feels weird not being weighed down with homework and practices.  This is my chance to have a social life before I jump back into _more_ classes and homework.  I’m not doing sports though.  I just want to focus on my studies.”

 

“I didn’t have a social life either, and I’m facing the same problem this summer.  It feels strange not dealing with clubs and theater and homework,”  Cas took a bite of his chicken sandwich and looked over to make sure Alfie was ok.  He was playing with a couple of other kids in the ball pit.  Their mom was going to have to scrub the kid in the tub tonight to wash off all of the nasty germs he was no doubt picking up right now.

 

“So, what kind of social life are you having now?”  Dean asked.  Cas swallowed and looked at him.

 

“Babysitting my brother, can’t you tell?”  He joked.  Dean laughed and nodded.

 

“Yeah, I’ve been watching Sam a lot.  He’s old enough to stay home alone but he has started kitchen fires twice now trying to cook for himself so my mom wants him supervised when our folks aren’t home.  He’s not allowed to touch the stove unless I’m standing there or she is.  If I’m not home, he has to eat cold sandwiches,”

 

“So, are you having a social life now?”  Cas asked.  Dean shrugged and popped another fry in his mouth.

 

“I’m having McDonald’s with my neighbor,”

 

Cas chuckled and smiled.  “Yes, same.”

 

Dean finished his Big Mac and took a sip of his Coke. 

 

“So, Cas, is there any chance you like guys?”

 

Cas blinked in surprise and swallowed down the fry he’d been chewing.

 

“Yes, actually,”

 

“I’m like, really bad at asking guys out, but do you maybe want to go out sometime?”  Dean looked uncertain, like he expected Cas to say no.

 

“You mean something other than McDonald’s?”  Cas teased.  Dean laughed and nodded.

 

“Yes.  Maybe Burger King, this time,”

 

Cas grinned.  That was hilarious, but he’d go to Burger King if that was what Dean had in mind.  He thought Dean was handsome and he wanted to go on a real date.  High school hadn’t left much time for dating.

 

“I would like that.  When were you thinking?”

 

“Well, how does tomorrow sound?”  Dean asked.

 

“If it’s after six I can.  My sisters have practice again tomorrow, so I have to wait for my mom to get back.  She won’t take Alfie with her because he gets bored.  I don’t mind watching him.  He plays well by himself, but sometimes he has the kids next door to play with.  If you want to come over tomorrow, I’ll be outside, letting him run off energy,” 

 

Dean gave a crooked smile as he nodded.  “Cool, I can stop by,”

 

“Cassie!  I can do a ninja punch!”  Alfie had run over to the table and was punching the air in front of him.  “That’s what Sam says I gotta do!”

 

“That is really great.  I’ll tell Mommy later about the karate school, ok?  She’ll call them in the morning,”  Cas brushed his brother’s crazy hair down as he talked.

 

“Can I have ice cream?  I want an M&M ice cream!” 

 

Cas sighed.  He’d hoped Alfie wouldn’t ask for ice cream, but he should have known better.

 

“Ok, but you’re not getting a lot of it, I know how sick you get if you eat too much,”

 

“I’ll go get it,”  Dean was already on his feet.  “I want a couple of their apple pies anyway.”

 

Cas handed him a five and Dean left to go get the ice cream.

 

“We’re going to share, understand?”

 

“Yes, Cassie,”  Alfie crawled up onto the seat and stole one of his brother’s fries.

 

Dean came back, passing Cas the ice cream and his change.  He ate his apple pies while Cas fed bites of ice cream to his brother.  When Alfie had his fill, he ran off to play some more.  Cas took a bite of the ice cream and looked at Dean.

 

“So where are we going tomorrow?”

 

“How does mini golf sound?”

 

Cas smiled.  He hadn’t played that in ages.  “I like the sound of that,”

 

“Cool,”  Dean was grinning as he started on his second pie.  He really loved those things.

 

After parting ways outside of Cas’ house, Dean headed home with his brother and Kevin.  Cas led Alfie inside and decided his brother needed a bath now, not later, so he filled the tub and stripped the little boy down.  He plopped him in the tub full of the bubbles from the bubble bath soap he’d added and handed him his toys.  As Alfie played, he scrubbed him down, washing away the filth from the play place and after washing his hair, he took him out and dried him off.  The tot ran off to get dressed while he cleaned out the tub and put the toys back in their place.  It had been a full day, and it wasn’t even four yet. 

 

“I’m gonna be a ninja!”  Alfie screamed as he ran past the bathroom.  Cas sighed and rolled his eyes.  It was a good thing he was a patient man.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading this one. We're off to the next one!


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